LDACS Navigation

The design features of LDACS allow for its extension beyond a mere communications network to enable navigation and even surveillance services for ATM. The advantages of such an integrated CNS approach are evident – all CNS components will rely on a common LDACS “backbone” infrastructure. The required extensions of the core system either minimal, as in case of LDACS-based navigation, or of an evolutionary nature, as would be required for enabling surveillance services.

Moreover, a considerable synergy potential can be achieved through an aggregation of communications, navigation, and surveillance information. While the LDACS surveillance service is currently at its conceptualization stage, the navigation functionality has been already validated in a flight measurement campaign.